ROADTRIP IN MAY TO BISBEE, AZ

Boot Hill Graveyard

Bisbee is in SE Arizona at an altitude 5000. We traveled with our friends Asghar and Kaye in their new auto. Arriving near the town we were drawn into Tombstone's Boot Hill.  I loved the prickley pear and cholla blooms and concentrated taking their pictures.

In the center of town we encountered the stagecoach giving tourists rides to experience travel as back in the old days. I'm  sure the paved roads don't really tell the whole story.

Bisbee is now a town for tourists.  The season was nearly over for them. The town is hilly and the streets are narrow. Most of the businesses were closed. 
The guys took a tour of the internal Queen mine while Kaye and I looked at the huge excavation created by the strip mine. There is a trolley in town to explore the sights of Bisbee.

waiting to go on mine tour.

open pit mine

entrance to mine

Larry relaxes in the lobby of the Copper Queen Hotel

Copper Queen Hotel on left.

We spent the night at Hotel Lamore and the next afternoon we headed to Ramsey Canyon only to find it was closed. Fortunately a few yards away a B&B had numerous bird feeders and we were able to add a few new bird conquests to our bird photo collection.

Black-headed Grosbeak

Acorn woodpecker

Lazuli Bunting

Broad-billed Hummer

Mexican Jay

Painted Redstart

 After lunch we headed home but saved time to explore the large BLM managed Empire Ranch. Wandering through the grounds I found many Barn Swallow nests built from mud on the ceilings in the barns and porches. I saw barn swallows sitting on power lines in Bisbee too but have no good photos from there.

BarnSwallows

 

Blue skies reflected on tin roofs.

Kaye and Larry

Asghar the gunslinger

I loved the fences and grasses on the ranch. The doors of outbuildings were all different. The main ranch house built between 1871 and 1874 had many additions added through the years as depicted on the poster

Another great road trip!